Facebook Continues The TOS Debate; Opens Town Halls And Access To Zuckerberg

Facebook seems determined to keep the conversation about its Terms of Service and privacy issues going in the apparent hope of either coming to a group decision or giving users enough of a chance to make themselves heard that they’ll feel like they participated even if it doesn’t go their way. On the dramatic side, the stakes are the soul of a massive social network. On the pragmatic side, it’s about the potential value of that massive network. Today’s PR barrage includes:

— CEO Mark Zuckerberg doing a rare conference call (it’s at 2. 00 p.m. eastern; we’ll post as warranted. I’ll also twitter at sdkstl.) to discuss “the new steps Facebook is taking to improve user understanding and ownership of the Facebook terms of service and, more generally, the policies of the Facebook service.”

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— posting proposed Facebook Principles and a proposed Facebook Statement of Rights & Responsibilities, opening “town hall” groups on the site. I’m including links for Facebook members. The Statement, which will be based on the Principles, will replace the existing Terms of Use, Developer Terms of Service, and the Facebook Advertising Terms and Conditions. The comment period closes just after midnight Pacific on March 29. Following that, Facebook will review, consider and republish, incorporating “any changes [they] have made.”